Word: socialism
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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This is a very different era from the one in which William Gropper rose to prominence. It is no longer fashionable to say things in art. And it is dangerous to have a social conscience. Painting has escaped or been diverted from social concerns by concentrating on form. Wether or not prosperity is the mistress of aestheticism, both seem to have won the day. In America's greatest contemporary school of art, abstract expressionism, de Kooning looms as a demi-god to the disenchanted because some idea of pain and depth, some recognition of the essential difficulty of life, emerges...
William Gropper never lost his social conscience or his conviction that "the artist's function is to be aware of life and conditions of the times." He still satirizes the blustering Senators and the martini-drinking set that crowds the chic exhibit halls. On the other hand, he retains compassion for the little east side tailor who emigrated to this country lie his own grandfather. Yet, both in moods of satire and compassion his color has become more strident. "I am having a ball with color," he says, and this above all seems to be his concession to the Formalistic...
...extensive series of wash drawings done in Bulgaria make up a large part of the current exhibit. They indicate one way Gropper has accommodated his social consciousness to a new era. These drawings capture the very different mood of these people, wine growers and shepherds. A few simple lines delineate their oriental features and the plodding routine of their life. The artist is also sensitive to the different background of this country, the tall mountains and peculiar lighting...
Beyond its educational value, the student would aim at improving the health of his own patient, with the eventual goal of releasing him from the hospital. Despite the discovery of amazing new drugs, mental hospitals have been handicapped more and more by the critical lack of trained social workers...
While providing research material for its abnormal personality courses, the Social Relations Department would be experimenting boldly with the nation's most pressing health problem...